Tools: Fact sheets:
Violent Victimization of College Students

In December 2003, the Bureau of Justice Statistics issued a Special Report entitled "Violent Victimization of College Students." This report summarizes the data colleted in the National Crime Victimization Survey, 1995-2000, regarding college or university students ages 18 to 24 and compares the data to that for non-students of the same age. Some of the results were as follows:

• Between 1995 and 2000, college students were the victims of about 526,000 violent crimes each year, which includes rape/sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, and simple assault, 128,120 of which involved a weapon or serious injury to the victim.
• Non-students experienced more violent crimes per capita than students with 82 victimizations per 1,000 persons as opposed to 68 victimizations per 1,000 persons.
• The offender was perceived to be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs in 41% of violent crimes against college students.
• About 2 in 5 rape/sexual assaults and 1 in 4 robberies against college students were committed by offenders perceived to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
• Firearms were present in 9% and knives in 7% of all violent crimes against college students.
• College students were 14 times more likely to be a victim of violent crime off-campus than on-campus.
• Violence against non-students was more likely to be reported to the police (47%) than violence against college students (34%).
• 86% of all rapes/sexual assaults against college students were not reported to the police.
• Male college students were nearly twice as likely to be the victim of violent crime than females.
• 59% of all violent crimes against college students were committed by strangers.
• 74% of the rape/sexual assaults against college students were committed by non-strangers.
• Overall, violent crime against college students fell from 88 to 52 victimizations per 1,000 persons.